Harvard Global Surgery

Program in #GlobalSurgery & Social Change | Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship @BostonChildrens @BrighamWomens @HarvardMed

[WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean @WHOEMRO]

Surgical care is not a luxury, it’s a lifeline. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, too many people still lack access to safe, timely surgical care when it matters most.

I invite researchers, policymakers and practitioners to contribute to this important special issue of Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal on SURGICAL CARE DELIVERY: GLOBAL INNOVATION, PRIORITIES AND FINANCING by @WHOEMRO and @HarvardPGSSC.

Let’s bring forward bold ideas, evidence and solutions to strengthen surgical systems and save lives.

📝 Submit by 30 November 2026
🔗 https://t.co/oKdqS5TDEI

[Abbas Karim @_abbaskarim]

Incredible first #WHA79 in Geneva! 🇺🇳

Filled w/ many highlights, including advocating for innovative financing for surgical care in the EMRO region, contributing to ECO care discussions, attending events on TBI, acute care, and migrant health, & more with the @HarvardPGSSC team!

[Kee Park @keepark]

This was a great event. Proud of the intervention from @HarvardPGSSC @_abbaskarim

[Kee Park @keepark]

Thank you, Guatamala 🇬🇹, South Sudan 🇸🇸, and Cambodia 🇰🇭 for joining the #TBI @TBICoalition team as cosponsors!🙏🙏🙏

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

Powerful moments from the TBI Side Event Session at #WHA79, moderated by @keepark, culminating in H.E. Minister Barnoya of Guatemala announcing co-sponsorship of the resolution to recognize TBI as a chronic and notifiable condition! 🧠🙌🏼

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

Climate change isn’t just an environmental crisis - it is a mental health crisis too.

A new scoping review reveals how floods, droughts and rising sea levels are driving anxiety, PTSD and depression across Africa.

See how 👉🏼https://t.co/ldCtLW3WOK

[HananBalkhyحنان بلخي @HananBalkhy]

At a #WHA79 side event on traumatic brain injury (TBI), I joined partners and Member States to advance a stronger global response to one of the most overlooked public health challenges of our time.

With an estimated 69 million TBIs occurring every year globally, recognizing TBI as a notifiable and chronic condition can help strengthen prevention, surveillance, emergency care, rehabilitation and long-term support, especially in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the burden is compounded by conflict and displacement, making stronger trauma systems and continuity of care an urgent priority.

I thank Pakistan for formally submitting a draft resolution recognizing TBI as a notifiable, chronic and preventable condition, and Indonesia and Türkiye for co-sponsoring this important effort toward stronger global action on TBI.

Appreciation also goes to the @TBICoalition, @theG4Alliance, the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change @HarvardPGSSC, and the International Health Systems group at the University of Cambridge @Cambridge_Uni for convening this timely dialogue and advancing momentum toward a WHA resolution that puts patients, dignity and long-term recovery at the centre of global health action.

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

PGSSC represented at #WHA79 💪 Drs. Nardeen Dawood, Kee Park & John Meara on the @theG4Alliance stage tackling surgical financing, inequities in bilateral agreements, and what real global health architecture reform at WHO & UN needs to look like. The conversation is shifting. 🌍

[HananBalkhyحنان بلخي @HananBalkhy]

Ahead of #WHA79, I was delighted to meet Prof. John Meara @JohnMeara, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change @HarvardPGSSC at Harvard Medical School @harvardmed; Dr Kee Park @keepark, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Harvard Medical School; and Dr Tariq Khan @TariqNeurosurg, Professor and Head of Neurosurgery, Northwest School of Medicine @nwsmedu, Pakistan.

Our discussion highlighted the value of strong collaboration in advancing surgical, trauma and emergency care across the Eastern Mediterranean Region, including through @WHOEMRO’s Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal.

We also explored closer collaboration between @TheLancet Commission on Global Surgery and our Regional Trauma Initiative to help elevate action on trauma and traumatic brain injury, a critical yet too often neglected challenge in conflict-affected settings.

#Partners4Health

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

Join us tomorrow, May 14th, for the final PFC Research Seminar of the year on "Surgical care and Disaster Response in Humanitarian Crises".

https://t.co/cMapm4pJ3h

https://t.co/xsZkTMxmGe

Registration link: https://t.co/Nxje3VsTvS

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

A future without cervical cancer is possible!

See how Indonesia aspires to a future where cervical cancer is a disease of the past and everyone woman can live a healthy life, free from its threat👉🏼https://t.co/KgbYloMShR

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

#healthcare #equity

[University of Global Health Equity @ughe_org]

Celebrating a decade of impact: Our 10-Year Academic Report is now live.

Over the past decade, #UGHE has grown in many ways.  We have built new pathways for learning, deepened partnerships across borders, advanced research that drives real change, and worked shoulder to shoulder with communities to build stronger, more resilient health systems.

We believe health is a human right, and at UGHE, it is the foundation of everything we do. We prepare students not only to care for communities, but to stand with them, learn from them, and work alongside them to build a more just and equitable world.

Read the full 10-Year Academic Report here: https://t.co/YSXnQ5pcVm

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

As foreign aid shrinks, philanthropy might be one of the last levers for surgical care in Low- and Middle-Income countries.

This new study breaks down who’s giving, where it’s going and what it will take to change the picture.

Worth the full read 👉🏼https://t.co/WgtRkZLbAm

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

This new scoping review maps out 32 transferable strategies that surgical systems in LMICs can use to do more with less, and yes, without cutting corners on quality.

Read more 👉🏼https://t.co/BjZ7yMv90U

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

#global #health #equity #humansrights

[University of Global Health Equity @ughe_org]

Applications are now open for UGHE’s 6th cohort of the Global Leadership in Nursing and Midwifery Certificate Program.

Join this nine-month executive education program that equips practicing nurses and midwives with the leadership skills needed to strengthen nursing and midwifery practice, improve population health, and respond to 21st-century health challenges in Rwanda and across Africa.

Apply by May 30, 2026: https://t.co/kQFvgCHVwJ

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

Did you know that only 0.4% of multilateral health funding goes to surgical care, while 50% goes to communicable diseases?

What does this gap mean for surgical equity?

Read more 👉🏼https://t.co/hJK36gonxO

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

Is surgery the “absent child” of global health?

A new panel discussion with policy experts argues that despite a decade of progress, global surgery risks being sidelined in health policy and financing. Read more 👉🏼https://t.co/0fDGrEVqqN

[Harvard Global Surgery @HarvardPGSSC]

🎉 Congratulations to the @MOH_Kenya and its partners on this major milestone!

Kenya's first National Surgical Services Strategic Plan (2026 - 2031) launched👌🏾

@drrubenayala
@OdulaPaul of @KenyaSurgical

[Ministry of Health @MOH_Kenya]

Expanding access to safe and affordable surgical care is central to strengthening Kenya’s health system.

The Ministry of Health has launched the first National Surgical Services Strategic Plan (2026–2031), marking a major milestone in improving surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia services across all levels of care.

Speaking during the Surgical Society of Kenya Annual Scientific Conference, Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Dr Ouma Oluga, said the strategy provides a bold, costed roadmap aligned to Universal Health Coverage, aimed at reducing preventable deaths and improving outcomes, especially in underserved areas.

He noted that surgical care remains a critical pillar of quality healthcare, and highlighted key reform enablers including health financing through the Social Health Authority, commodity security, digitalisation, and health workforce development. Nearly 29 million Kenyans are now registered under the Social Health Authority, strengthening access and financial protection for patients.

The plan outlines targeted actions to build surgical workforce capacity, expand infrastructure, strengthen referral systems, integrate surgical indicators into health information systems, and enhance coordination across national and county governments, professional bodies, private sector and partners.

Dr Oluga also urged healthcare professionals to embrace digital innovation to improve patient care and data systems, as he officially launched the strategy.

In attendance were President of the Surgical Society of Kenya, Prof. Odula; Chair of Chairmen, Surgical Society of Kenya, Dr Mwachiro; members of the Surgical Society of Kenya; and representatives from national and county governments, among other stakeholders.